Time for an Update

Perhaps it's time for an update for my followers out there. For those of you who listen to NOW Radio, you know that there was a contest a couple of weeks ago where the contestants had to carry around a cardboard cutout of the morning DJs, Crash and Mars. Well, I won $100 for seeing and getting a picture taken with Angela and the cutout. I've never won money before.. well, not more than $10. Now, all I have to do is win $10,000 playing 'Stop the Clock' on their sister station, Up 99.3. I can't get through on the phone line though.

Way back at the end of November I registered for the Big Sur International Marathon in Big Sur, California. Here's the website. There are a lot of beautiful pictures of the race course and videos of the route, so check it out. The race starts and finishes in Carmel (yes, the town where Clint Eastwood was mayor). It's along Highway One on the coast and I think I may take my camera for the photo ops along the way, but that may weigh me down and affect my running efficiency - wait, what efficiency!!!

Apparently, the first mile is fast and furious. Giant redwoods line both sides of the roadway and sparkles of light from the rising sun dance in the canopy of branches overhead. I'll take advantage of gravity working with me. Carmel is a very beautiful, quaint town, and I'm looking forward to spending my money there - after my legs recover!

On March 16th a 40 foot section of Highway One collapsed making the road impassable between Carmel and Big Sur, and as a result, the route has been revised. Fortunately, the most difficult hill, Hurricane Point, is no longer part of the race...yippee.


This will be my first marathon-only race. By marathon-only I mean a marathon that isn't part of an Ironman. I've done plenty of those, but a marathon is different. I may be in for a world of hurt, not that an Ironman doesn't hurt, but I can run faster in a marathon because there won't be a swim and bike to warm me up ha ha. The result of running faster is probably going to be really sore legs. No worries though... my legs will do a lot of walking and shopping to aid in recovery. With that $100 I won, I will be able to walk that much further.

I have been training since January, but got injured in March so had to take about three weeks away from running, which was bad timing because the marathon is on May 1. My injury is gone, but I feel under trained and fat. Oh well...it is what it is. I'll have fun in California anyway. My goal of four and a half hours may not be reached, but I'm going to try my damndest. It may be easier without that beast of a hill.

My Mom and I leave for San Francisco three weeks from tomorrow and we'll be gone for a week. It'll be nice to be somewhere that doesn't have snow.

Stay tuned.